Too Little, Too Late

A six run, bottom of the 9th was exciting, but it just wasn’t enough for the Tigers to overcome their nine run deficit. In a game that meant so much for the Detroit Tiger season, Mike Clevinger and the Indians just weren’t cooperating.

It only took the Cleveland Indians four batters, before they started making trouble for Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers, Sunday afternoon. A homerun from Chisenhall would put two on the board for the tribe, but they were just getting started. The Indians added two more in the 3rd. A walk, two singles and another run in the 4th, and Justin Verlander would finally leave the mound, leaving the bases loaded. Chad Bell came on to replace Verlander and gave up a three run home run, right off the bat, before closing off a nightmare inning where the tribe sent seven to the plate and scored four. The Tigers trailed 8-1.

Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger kept Tiger hitters out of this game. While his relievers helped the Tigers, save face. A J.D. Martinez double in the 3rd, scoring Iglesias would get the Tigers on the board. Machado would score on a McCann single in the 7th. But, it wasn’t until the 9th inning that Tiger fans would really have something to cheer about. Two singles from Romine and Machado, a single from Avila scoring Romine and a three run, home run from McCann, and suddenly the Tigers would trail 11-6. Armstrong would relieve Logan for the tribe, but at the very next bat, Castellanos would deliver another two run shot to right for the Tigers. Sadly, that’s where the ninth inning magic ended. The Tigers lose 11-8.

Justin Verlander pitched 3 1/3 innings, giving up 9 hits with 3 walks and no strikeouts. With the three inherited runners, he would also give up 7 runs.

With the loss, the Tigers fall to 36-45, with only six games left before the All Star break. The Tigers have a day to regroup on Monday. They open up a three game series with San Francisco, Tuesday afternoon at home, before heading to Cleveland for the final three. Daniel Norris(4-6 5.00 ERA) gets the call and will face off against Giants’ starter, Matt Cain(3-7 5.46 ERA). Our coverage begins at 12:45, on 95.3 WBCK.